Members of the Senate are part-timers who often hold other positions as well. They receive an allowance which is about a quarter of the salary of the members of the House of Representatives. Unlike the politically more significant House of Representatives, it meets only once a week. Its members tend to be veteran politicians or part-time politicians at the national level, often having other roles. It has the right to accept or reject legislative proposals, but not to amend them or to initiate legislation. Directly after a bill has been passed by the House of Representatives it is sent to the Senate. Here the bill is submitted to a parliamentary committee. The committee decides whether the bill can be immediately put on the agenda of the full chamber or whether there should first be preparatory study of the bill. If a bill is immediately put on the agenda of the full chamber, it will be passed as a formality without a debate.

The Senate was instituted by King William I in 1815. When the Netherlands and Belgium were united in 1815, the Belgians in particular pressed for the introduction of a bicameral system. In its early years, the Senate served as a bulwark of the Crown (i.e. the King and his ministers) since it was still able to block bills that displeased the King. Such bills were usually private member's bills from the House of Representatives. At that time, the members of the House of Representatives too were elected indirectly. The members of the Senate were not elected, but were confidants of the King and were appointed for life. The Senate remained in existence after the separation from Belgium in 1830. Much changed in the political sphere as a result of the introduction of a new constitution in 1848. The position of the Senate and the criteria governing eligibility to stand for election were among the changes. Monitoring the quality of legislation gradually came to be the main function of the Senate after 1848.[1]